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House Hansard - 244

44th Parl. 1st Sess.
November 1, 2023 02:00PM
Context: House Hansard - 244 - Nov/1/23
Mrs. Caroline Desbiens (Beauport—Côte-de-Beaupré—Île d'Orléans—Charlevoix, BQ)
  • Nov/1/23 2:20:23 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we have seen successive moratoriums and closures in our vital fishing sector, but since 1992 the federal government has provided no compensation, no valid options to help our fishers face hard times. To date, fishers of mackerel, herring, yellowtail, winter flounder, turbot and now shrimp have been hard hit or threatened with closure. Add to that the problems with lobster, North Atlantic right whales, the overpopulation of seals, and now clams and seaweed harvesters. Workers in processing plants are also struggling. There is a real fishing crisis, and new-generation fishers are becoming hard to find. Our fishers' patience and resilience have limits. The good news is that fishers and scientists have solutions to offer, including alternative or sentinel fisheries, communal licenses, integrated ecosystem management and financial compensation. The fishing community knows the ocean and everything living in it, and it wants more than anyone to protect the resource and renew it. We must act, and quickly. The Bloc Québécois hears them, supports them and will make their voices heard.
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